Visualization on Smart Wristbands: Results from an In-situ Design Workshop with Four Scenarios

TL;DR

This paper explores designing adaptive data visualizations for smart wristbands through an in-situ workshop, addressing challenges posed by arm posture variations across different activities.

Contribution

It introduces a novel in-situ ideation method for visualizations on smart wristbands considering arm posture and activity scenarios.

Findings

Participants preferred responsive, adaptive visualization designs.

Design considerations vary with activity and arm posture.

Paper-based exercises effectively simulate future smart wristband visualizations.

Abstract

We present the results of an in-situ ideation workshop for designing data visualizations on smart wristbands that can show data around the entire wrist of a wearer. Wristbands pose interesting challenges because the visibility of different areas of the band depends on the wearer's arm posture. We focused on four usage scenarios that lead to different postures: office work, leisurely walks, cycling, and driving. As the technology for smart wristbands is not yet commercially available, we conducted a paper-based ideation exercise that showed how spatial layout and visualization design on smart wristbands may need to vary depending on the types of data items of interest and arm postures. Participants expressed a strong preference for responsive visualization designs that could adapt to the movement of wearers' arms. Supplemental material from the study is available here: https://osf.io/4hrca/.